


Piece of Cake

by kiyala



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Bakery and Coffee Shop, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 14:57:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5094938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a customer who comes to the bakery at precisely half past three every afternoon. He sits at a table by the window, with a large cup of coffee and a slice of red velvet cake, and he's always gone by four.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Piece of Cake

**Author's Note:**

> For [**MuraHimu Week**](http://fuckyeahmurahimu.tumblr.com/post/131906699747/hello-everyone-welcome-to-the-murahimu-week-2015) \- Day 3!

There's a customer who comes to the bakery at precisely half past three every afternoon. He sits at a table by the window, with a large cup of coffee and a slice of red velvet cake, and he's always gone by four. Sometimes he has a laptop with him, sometimes a book, but he's always wearing an intense look of concentration that makes people wary of approaching him, despite the fact that he's utterly gorgeous. 

For the first month, Atsushi doesn't even notice his existence. He's out the back in the kitchen, baking more cakes, decorating them, working on the custom orders that their clients are coming to pick up at the end of the day. He doesn't have the time for the front of the shop and doesn't really have the people skills for it anyway, preferring to leave that to Fukui or Okamura instead while he and Liu take care of everything in the kitchen. 

The first time he hears about the regular at all, it's when they're closing up shop for the day and Fukui looks up while he's counting the till, snapping his fingers. 

"Right, Murasakibara. I just remembered. Our regular was in today. He said to pass his compliments on to you for the red velvet cake. Said it was especially good today."

"Hmm?" Atsushi blinks. "Okay, but I didn't do anything special today. Which regular are you talking about?"

"There's a guy who comes in," Okamura answers, "like clockwork, at three thirty every day. Polite when he's ordering, but then he's got this air about him when he sits down. He's kind of intense." 

"Sounds like too much trouble for me," Atsushi decides with a shrug. "But if he likes my cake, then he must be okay." 

"The way Murasakibara measures the worth of everyone," Liu mutters, his lips twitching into a smile. "You must have done well, if someone so serious went out of their way to comment on good your cake tasted." 

Shrugging again, Atsushi hums, not entirely convinced. "I really didn't do anything different, though. I don't know what he's talking about. Oh well."

 

* * *

 

Another month passes before Atsushi actually _meets_ the regular, even though he hears more stories in that time. Usually about the way he's frowning at whatever he's working on while he's sitting down, or the way that is serious expression had immediately vanished, to be replaced with a kind smile when another customer spoke to him. Nobody knows his name and it's all very mysterious, Atsushi thinks, but not mysterious enough to really pique his interest. The important thing is that his pastries are selling well and his red velvet cake seems to be the most popular. He's happy with that.

But then Okamura is sick one day, and they don't have any custom orders to finish in the afternoon, which is how Atsushi finds himself behind the counter, chatting with Fukui while Liu finishes off the pie he's making. The clock on the wall ticks over to half past three and the bell above the door jingles as it opens. Fukui kicks at Atsushi's foot, raising his eyebrows and looking pointedly at the counter. 

Standing in front of them with his money already held in his hand, is the most beautiful person that Atsushi has ever seen in his entire life. He's staring at Atsushi too, eyes quickly flicking down and then back up to meet his gaze. 

"I haven't seen you here before," the customer says, and it annoys Atsushi for some reason. As if it's _his_ bakery, not Atsushi's. 

"He's usually out the back," Fukui intercepts smoothly before Atsushi can reply. Probably because he knows Atsushi well enough to know that nothing he says will be particularly friendly. "That's probably why you don't see him very often. He's usually busy baking cakes while you're here."

"Oh." The customer's eyes go wide. "You're the one who makes the red velvet cake, then? It's my favourite."

"Thank you," Atsushi mumbles, not really sure what else to say. He feels a little out of his element here, and the guy in front of him is _ridiculously_ pretty. It doesn't make for a very good combination and suddenly, Atsushi wants nothing more than to return to the safety of his kitchen. 

"Just the usual, then?" Fukui asks, ringing it up on the register and taking the money. "Go ahead and sit down. I'll get Murasakibara here to bring it out to you, for a change."

"What," Atsushi says in a low voice, once it's just him and Fukui at the counter again. 

"I'm helping," Fukui winks. "You saw the way he was eyeing you, right? And I definitely saw the way you were eyeing him."

"Mind your own business," Atsushi grumbles, watching as Fukui makes the coffee. "What do I even do?" 

"Cut a slice of that red velvet cake and put it on a plate," Fukui tells him, laughing quietly. "Take the cake and coffee over to him. Try not to trip and spill it all over him." 

Atsushi swallows hard. "I hate you." 

"You'll thank me later," Fukui says confidently, setting the coffee cup on a saucer and nudging Atsushi. "Come on, then. Don't want to keep him waiting." 

Just as Okamura and Fukui had told him, the guy is frowning down at his phone with single-minded focus and it makes Atsushi curious, wondering what's caught his attention like that. When Atsushi approaches the table though, the guy blinks and puts his phone down. Atsushi gives him a tight smile, putting the cake and coffee down in front of him. 

"There you go." 

"Thank you… Murasakibara, was it?"

"Yeah. Murasakibara Atsushi." 

The guy smiles. "Himuro Tatsuya. Your cake is a big part of the reason why I come here every day, you know. This is a good place to sit and take a break from work."

"You're on a break from work?" Atsushi asks, without quite meaning to. So Himuro's frowning at his screen like that when he's not in work mode. Atsushi doesn't think he even wants to see what kind of expression Himuro would make when he _was_ working. 

"I work at an office down the street," Himuro tells him. "I usually eat at my desk and work through lunch because it's busy, so I take a proper break later, when it's quieter."

Atsushi nods and he wants to continue the conversation, but he wants to escape back to the kitchen even more. "Enjoy your cake. Bye."

 

* * *

 

Atsushi doesn't actually mean to be out behind the counter the next day at three thirty when Himuro walks in, it just kind of happens. Fukui and Okamura make him serve Himuro again, not even being subtle about the fact that they're watching on. Himuro looks nice when he's concentrating, but he looks even nicer when he's smiling at Atsushi.

He isn't quite sure how this becomes a regular thing, with Atsushi behind the counter every time Himuro walks in.

With Atsushi hanging out behind the counter for the full half hour that Himuro is there, on the days when he isn't busy. 

With Atsushi and Himuro spending most of that half hour chatting as Himuro eats his cake and Atsushi learns how to make coffee from Fukui.

With Atsushi making Himuro's coffee _and_ cutting his cake, starting just before three thirty so that it's just freshly ready for him the moment he walks in. 

He doesn't know when Himuro became _Muro-chin_ , or when he went from being Murasakibara to Atsushi. It's nice, though. It's a little weird, and he wishes he knew why the rest of his coworkers keep grinning at him the way they do, but that aside. It's nice. 

He overhears Fukui and Okamura talking about it one afternoon, as they're getting ready to close up. Liu is in the freezer, putting things away, and Atsushi is putting things through the dishwasher. In the lull after the spray, he hears Fukui say it.

"—And Murasakibara has this painful crush on Himuro—"

Atsushi stops what he's doing for a moment, and thinks about it. He realises, after a moment, that Fukui is right. 

He hums in thought, and puts another load through the dishwasher.

As much as he'd like to say that he doesn't dwell on it, he does. It's hard not to think about it, now that the feeling's been put into words for him, and he supposes that the next obvious step is actually doing something about it. 

He thinks about it as he lies in bed that night, replaying his past few interactions with Himuro, trying to figure out where the line is between friendly and interested. To be honest, Himuro probably crossed it that time he lightly wrapped his fingers around Atsushi's wrist while they were talking, has probably continued to cross it with every lingering glance he's sent in Atsushi's direction. 

So, yeah, okay. Maybe Atsushi should do something about it. Something big and dramatic, probably, because that's the kind of person Himuro is. He's always so intense about everything he does, so he's most likely the kind of person who would want grand gestures. 

Atsushi could ask him out by baking a cake specifically for him, maybe writing something on it in icing, but that's too simple, too boring. He needs to think harder. He needs to come up with something _amazing_. 

 

* * *

 

By the time morning comes, Atsushi has had no sleep and no ideas worth keeping. 

He's tired and irritable all day, grateful for the fact that his coworkers give him space. He goes through the soothing ritual of measuring out his ingredients, putting them together, mixing them and putting the cakes in the oven to bake. It helps, little by little, and he might still be tired, but he's nowhere near as cranky. That's a good thing for everyone involved.

He freezes up when Himuro comes in that afternoon, because he's not ready for this. He's not ready to _do something_ , but he's not the kind of person to sit back and do nothing about it either. Especially when he knows that they're both interested in each other. 

"Sit down," Atsushi tells him, as Himuro hands his money over. "I'll bring it over to you." 

Okamura and Fukui exchange glances. Stepping in Atsushi's way, Okamura stops him. "Are you sure you're okay to be carrying plates around today? You've been off all day." 

"I'll be fine," Atsushi assures him. "I'm not going to trip and spill coffee all over Muro-chin. Relax." 

With a quiet hum, Okamura steps back, even though he still looks unsure. Atsushi ignores him, picking up the plates with the coffee and the cake, carrying them over to the window seat where Himuro always sits. 

"How are you today?" Himuro asks, smiling up at him.

"Date me," Atsushi says, as he puts the plates down. They both blink at each other as they process his words. "I mean. Shit. I think I smell a cake burning in the oven. Bye—"

"Atsushi," Himuro calls, stopping him in his tracks. He's wearing the smile that always makes him look breathtakingly beautiful and it's unfair, really, that Atsushi has to embarrass himself and then be rendered speechless by this sight. It's rude. Himuro raises an eyebrow. "You basically just confessed your feelings for me, and you're not going to wait for my answer?" 

He can't walk away, as much as he wants to, but he doesn't know what to say either. He just lets out a non-committal hum, staying right where he is. 

"Yeah, I'll date you," Himuro grins, picking up his fork and taking a small piece of cake, bringing it to his mouth. He smiles around it, and Atsushi can feel his face heating. Because apparently he's determined to embarrass himself in as many ways as he possibly can this afternoon. 

"Oh," he says intelligently. 

"Dinner tomorrow night," Himuro tells him. "I'll pick out a place and make a reservation. I'll give you the details tomorrow when I come in. Sound good?" 

Atsushi blinks, still trying to catch up to the fact that this is actually happening. "Yeah." 

"Good." Himuro smiles even wider. "Your coworkers look like they're about to explode because they can't hear what we're saying. Do you want to go over and fill them in before they actually come over and pretend like they're not eavesdropping? I'll be here." 

"You'll be right here," Atsushi repeats, unsure if he's asking for confirmation, or just stating a fact. "Okay. Okay, good. I'll be back. But Muro-chin?"

"Yes, Atsushi?" 

"I like you." 

Himuro beams. "I like you too, Atsushi. Now hurry up and go talk to your coworkers. The sooner you do that, the sooner I have you to myself again."

He makes a good point. Atsushi doesn't think he's ever walked so fast in his life.


End file.
